Jungian Theory for Storytellers: A Toolkit by Helena Bassil-Morozow

Author:Helena Bassil-Morozow
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Published: 2018-04-17T16:00:00+00:00

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The animus is usually presented as an antagonist or a supporting character. A protagonist animus is very rare, much like the protagonist anima, mainly because the ‘finding the partner’ narrative type focuses on the actions of the person looking for a partner rather than the potential romantic object.

Up until relatively recently, the animus narrative was the main type of story available to a female protagonist. A female character (obligatorily beautiful) would be cast as searching for an ideal husband or a partner who would take care of her and the future family. This potential partner would be made to go through various tests in order to ascertain his suitability for the role. A female protagonist was perpetually and exclusively looking for love, with very few interests outside this narrow focus (Marilyn Monroe’s characters epitomize this approach).

The view of the female role in narratives was supported by such stalwarts of narratology as Joseph Campbell, so it is not surprising that the film industry has been replicating this view for decades. Apparently, Campbell thought that a woman does not need to explore the world as she is ‘already there’, already perfect – unlike the male hero. The psychotherapist Maureen Murdock was interested in Campbell’s views on the female journey, and his response was rather blunt:

I wanted to hear Campbell’s views. I was surprised when he responded that women don’t need to make the journey. ‘In the whole mythological tradition the woman is there. All she has to do is to realize that she’s the place that people are trying to get to. When a woman realizes what her wonderful character is, she’s not going to get messed up with the notion of being pseudo-male.’

(Murdock, 2013: 7)

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